Cinematography – Filmmaker Magazinehttp://filmmakermagazine.com
Publication with a focus on independent film, offering articles, links, and resources.Thu, 17 Aug 2017 22:09:40 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.8.1Shooting From Dock to Dish with the New Canon C200http://filmmakermagazine.com/103104-shooting-from-dock-to-dish-with-the-new-canon-c200/
http://filmmakermagazine.com/103104-shooting-from-dock-to-dish-with-the-new-canon-c200/#respondMon, 14 Aug 2017 19:51:39 +0000http://filmmakermagazine.com/?p=103104For the launch of the C200, Canon hired producer Andrew Fried of Boardwalk Pictures to create a short introduction video, From Dock to Dish. Boardwalk Pictures specializes in nonfiction programming, most notably producing the Chef’s Table series for Netflix. The team, including DP Bryant Fisher, shot From Dock To Dish over the course of two days using pre-production units loaned from Canon. In this interview producer Fried and DP Fisher talk about the camera and their experience shooting the video. Filmmaker: How did you become involved in this project? Fried: Canon approached me to see if I had any ideas for a short […]]]>http://filmmakermagazine.com/103104-shooting-from-dock-to-dish-with-the-new-canon-c200/feed/0Cinematographer Lucas Alvarado-Farrar on Shooting Whose Streets?http://filmmakermagazine.com/103079-cinematographer-lucas-alvarado-farrar-on-shooting-whose-streets/
http://filmmakermagazine.com/103079-cinematographer-lucas-alvarado-farrar-on-shooting-whose-streets/#respondFri, 11 Aug 2017 14:00:49 +0000http://filmmakermagazine.com/?p=103079Opening today in theaters is Sabaah Folayan’s Whose Streets?, co-directed by Damon Davis. Both visceral and thoughtful, it looks back at the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO in September, 2014, capturing all the turbulence and outcry of the moment before moving forward and following the activist energies ignited by the event. There’s archival and citizen-shot material, most only on cell phones, in the movie, but also expertly-captured footage of the original protests and following actions shot by the film’s DP, Lucas Alvarado-Farrar. Here, in an interview conducted just prior to the film’s premiere at the 2017 Sundance Film […]]]>http://filmmakermagazine.com/103079-cinematographer-lucas-alvarado-farrar-on-shooting-whose-streets/feed/0Panasonic Announces a Sub $10,000 Large Sensor, Inter-Changeable Lens Camera – the AU-EVA1http://filmmakermagazine.com/102599-panasonic-announces-a-sub-10000-large-sensor-inter-changeable-lens-camera-the-au-eva1/
http://filmmakermagazine.com/102599-panasonic-announces-a-sub-10000-large-sensor-inter-changeable-lens-camera-the-au-eva1/#respondMon, 05 Jun 2017 14:26:15 +0000http://filmmakermagazine.com/?p=102599At NAB Panasonic hinted at a camera that would fit between the GH5 and their Varicam models, and now they’ve announced the AU-EVA1, which will ship in the fall. Back in 2010 Panasonic was one of the first companies to release a sub-$10,000 “large-sensor” video camera with interchangeable lenses. Remember that Canon had only released the 5D Mark II in late 2008 and had — much to their surprise — unleashed HD video with large-sensor cameras. Above I put the large-sensor in quotes because Panasonic’s AG-AF100 used the micro 4/3 lens mount. This gave you a larger sensor than you […]]]>http://filmmakermagazine.com/102599-panasonic-announces-a-sub-10000-large-sensor-inter-changeable-lens-camera-the-au-eva1/feed/0Canon Surprises With the C200http://filmmakermagazine.com/102553-canon-surprises-with-the-c200/
http://filmmakermagazine.com/102553-canon-surprises-with-the-c200/#respondThu, 01 Jun 2017 12:00:24 +0000http://filmmakermagazine.com/?p=102553It’s been two years since Canon announced the Canon C300 Mk II and C100 Mk II, and now, with the announcement of the C200, the company has produced an interesting 4K camera that sort of fits between the two models while at the same time offering new features not currently offered on either of them. First, the price. Canon is offering two models; a body only (B) model that will cost about $5,999 and a more complete version with handle, LCD mount and LCD monitor for $7,499. This is a notable departure from the C100/C300, which are currently only sold with […]]]>http://filmmakermagazine.com/102553-canon-surprises-with-the-c200/feed/0DP Sean Price Williams on Shooting 2-Perf 35mm for the Cannes Competition Film Good Timehttp://filmmakermagazine.com/102528-dp-sean-price-williams-on-shooting-2-perf-35mm-for-the-cannes-competition-film-good-time/
http://filmmakermagazine.com/102528-dp-sean-price-williams-on-shooting-2-perf-35mm-for-the-cannes-competition-film-good-time/#respondTue, 30 May 2017 14:00:36 +0000http://filmmakermagazine.com/?p=102528“Hey, it’s me,” said Sean Price Williams as he walked up to me at the after-party for Josh and Benny Safdie’s simply fantastic Good Time in Cannes last week. It did take me a second to recognize Williams — cleanly shaven, in a spiffy tux and strolling around a Dior-sponsored event for a film in the Main Competition of the Cannes Film Festival. If Williams seemed like a bit of a happy anomaly there, it’s because, like Good Time itself, the DP has ascended to cinema’s most revered platform with work that’s wholly of a piece with the raw, street-level […]]]>http://filmmakermagazine.com/102528-dp-sean-price-williams-on-shooting-2-perf-35mm-for-the-cannes-competition-film-good-time/feed/0NAB 2017: The Interesting Stuffhttp://filmmakermagazine.com/102331-nab-2017-the-interesting-stuff/
http://filmmakermagazine.com/102331-nab-2017-the-interesting-stuff/#respondMon, 01 May 2017 14:25:16 +0000http://filmmakermagazine.com/?p=102331Last week was the annual NAB show. Every year in April the film and television community comes together in Las Vegas to “ooh” and “ah” over the latest technology. With so much announced and demonstrated, here are the most interesting things I heard about: Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve 14. Blackmagic announced several new products, but the most interesting — once again — was a major update to DaVinci Resolve. Version 14, which is available now in beta, claims a number of performance enhancements that make it up to 10 times faster than the previous version. Resolve also has an entirely new audio […]]]>http://filmmakermagazine.com/102331-nab-2017-the-interesting-stuff/feed/0DP Sherry McCracken on Cinematography vs Photography, Pre-Visualization and the Growing Ease of Equipment for Female Crew Membershttp://filmmakermagazine.com/102201-dp-sherry-mccracken-on-cinematography-vs-photography-pre-visualization-and-the-growing-ease-of-equipment-for-female-crew-members/
http://filmmakermagazine.com/102201-dp-sherry-mccracken-on-cinematography-vs-photography-pre-visualization-and-the-growing-ease-of-equipment-for-female-crew-members/#respondTue, 18 Apr 2017 20:16:00 +0000http://filmmakermagazine.com/?p=102201In part two of this interview, DP of American Gothic Sherry McCracken discusses moving from photography to cinematography, what she’d do differently, and how lighter cameras make it possible for more women to work as cinematographers. You can read the first part of the interview here. Filmmaker: How did you find it going from photography to cinematography? McCracken: There are as many similar things as there are different things. I felt right at home with lens choice, ISO, aperture choice, sensor size, memory card speeds, etc. I was used to framing shots and lighting them for the best dynamic range and composition. But […]]]>http://filmmakermagazine.com/102201-dp-sherry-mccracken-on-cinematography-vs-photography-pre-visualization-and-the-growing-ease-of-equipment-for-female-crew-members/feed/0DP Sherry McCracken on Shooting the Low-Budget Independent Feature, American Gothichttp://filmmakermagazine.com/102178-dp-sherry-mccracken-on-shooting-the-low-budget-independent-feature-american-gothic/
http://filmmakermagazine.com/102178-dp-sherry-mccracken-on-shooting-the-low-budget-independent-feature-american-gothic/#respondMon, 17 Apr 2017 18:16:11 +0000http://filmmakermagazine.com/?p=102178Sherry McCracken, DP for the upcoming independent feature American Gothic, came to cinematography later in life. She grew up taking photographs, operated her own portrait business and worked in local television, but then she turned to IT because she felt she could make a better living. She remained an active still photographer and was asked by a friend to shoot location stills for a movie project. After working on that, and a second picture, she gained experience in film and ended up being asked to DP a project. In this interview she talks about how she made the switch to […]]]>http://filmmakermagazine.com/102178-dp-sherry-mccracken-on-shooting-the-low-budget-independent-feature-american-gothic/feed/0Lensing the Real Unreal: DP Adam J. Minnick on Shooting Actor Martinezhttp://filmmakermagazine.com/101963-lensing-the-real-unreal-dp-adam-j-minnick-on-shooting-actor-martinez/
http://filmmakermagazine.com/101963-lensing-the-real-unreal-dp-adam-j-minnick-on-shooting-actor-martinez/#commentsTue, 28 Mar 2017 18:03:58 +0000http://filmmakermagazine.com/?p=101963“It’s a job.” –Arthur Martinez I had two features as a cinematographer under my belt by late June of 2015, both close and comfortable collaborations with a single director: Joel Potrykus (Buzzard, The Alchemist Cookbook). It seems fitting that he made the phone call I received only a week and a half before Actor Martinez began principal photography. Joel eagerly informed me that two directors, Nathan Silver (Stinking Heaven, Uncertain Terms) and Mike Ott (Lake Los Angeles, Littlerock), had contacted him asking about my nearly immediate availability. I didn’t know them personally, but I certainly had been aware of their […]]]>http://filmmakermagazine.com/101963-lensing-the-real-unreal-dp-adam-j-minnick-on-shooting-actor-martinez/feed/1~29 Movies Shot on 35mm Released In 2016http://filmmakermagazine.com/101600-27-movies-shot-on-35mm-released-in-2016/
http://filmmakermagazine.com/101600-27-movies-shot-on-35mm-released-in-2016/#commentsWed, 22 Feb 2017 19:57:58 +0000http://filmmakermagazine.com/?p=101600This is my third time rounding up the previous year’s US theatrical releases shot in 35mm, and this year’s number is substantively lower than 2014 (39) and 2015 (~64). This seems like an anomaly, not a permanent trend: following the high-profile push by J.J. Abrams et al. to force studios to pony up for a certain amount of Kodak celluloid for the forseeable future, the company seems solvent enough (and they’re bringing back Ektachrome!). Some celluloid regulars (Spielberg, Nolan, Abrams, Tarantino) sat the year out, while Woody Allen jumped to digital, and there are fewer straggler releases that were completed three […]]]>http://filmmakermagazine.com/101600-27-movies-shot-on-35mm-released-in-2016/feed/4Witness Project: DP Ben Gaskell on Shooting with Lomo Anamorphic Lenseshttp://filmmakermagazine.com/101185-witness-project-dp-ben-gaskell-on-shooting-with-lomo-anamorphic-lenses/
http://filmmakermagazine.com/101185-witness-project-dp-ben-gaskell-on-shooting-with-lomo-anamorphic-lenses/#commentsWed, 15 Feb 2017 21:21:32 +0000http://filmmakermagazine.com/?p=101185Ben Gaskell is a freelance cinematographer and DP for Witness Project, a series of short documentaries about oppression. For a recent episode on Anastasia Lin, Miss World Canada 2015, Gaskell shot on the Blackmagic URSA Mini 4.6K using old Lomo anamorphic lenses. Filmmaker: How did you get involved with this project? Gaskell: The director was an editor on a documentary that I worked on and he knew that I had a knack for bringing an artistic flare to the documentary genre. We chatted about the series and ended up finding a common language, and he was really interested in the […]]]>http://filmmakermagazine.com/101185-witness-project-dp-ben-gaskell-on-shooting-with-lomo-anamorphic-lenses/feed/1Using Interviews and Animation to Bring the Sniper Documentary Tower to Lifehttp://filmmakermagazine.com/101655-using-interviews-and-animation-to-bring-the-sniper-documentary-tower-to-life/
http://filmmakermagazine.com/101655-using-interviews-and-animation-to-bring-the-sniper-documentary-tower-to-life/#respondMon, 13 Feb 2017 18:00:05 +0000http://filmmakermagazine.com/?p=101655The documentary Tower recounts the day in 1966 that a sniper on the University of Texas Tower killed 14 people and wounded dozens more. The film includes archival footage, interviews with those who were present and animated recreations of the event. In this interview, director/producer Keith Maitland and DP Sarah Wilson talk about the making of the film which receives its broadcast premiere on PBS on Tuesday, February 14th. Filmmaker: How did you become filmmakers? Maitland: I started off in narrative filmmaking, working on other people’s movies, and right around the time I met Sarah — we’ve been together 13 years […]]]>http://filmmakermagazine.com/101655-using-interviews-and-animation-to-bring-the-sniper-documentary-tower-to-life/feed/0“You Are Forced to Look Very Carefully”: DP Alan Jacobsen on Strong Islandhttp://filmmakermagazine.com/101455-you-are-forced-to-look-very-carefully-dp-alan-jacobsen-on-strong-island/
http://filmmakermagazine.com/101455-you-are-forced-to-look-very-carefully-dp-alan-jacobsen-on-strong-island/#respondMon, 30 Jan 2017 03:00:35 +0000http://filmmakermagazine.com/?p=101455Hailed by Filmmaker as one of the 25 New Faces of independent cinema in 2011, Yance Ford makes her feature film debut with Strong Island, an intensely personal documentary on the 1992 death of his brother. Ford worked with DP Alan Jacobsen to create the film’s singular aesthetic, which combines long takes and a camera that never pans or tilts. Ford and Jacobsen drew inspiration from the long take masters, from Tarkovsky to artist Sharon Lockhart. Jacobsen spoke with Filmmaker ahead of Strong Island‘s premiere in the U.S. documentary competition at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. Below, he touches on the painful nature of […]]]>http://filmmakermagazine.com/101455-you-are-forced-to-look-very-carefully-dp-alan-jacobsen-on-strong-island/feed/0“How to Sell the Outrageous Premise of the Film”: DP Quyen Tran on Deidra & Laney Rob a Trainhttp://filmmakermagazine.com/101420-how-to-sell-the-outrageous-premise-of-the-film-dp-quyen-tran-on-deidra-laney-rob-a-train/
http://filmmakermagazine.com/101420-how-to-sell-the-outrageous-premise-of-the-film-dp-quyen-tran-on-deidra-laney-rob-a-train/#commentsSun, 29 Jan 2017 21:00:09 +0000http://filmmakermagazine.com/?p=101420A pair of teenage sisters resort to train robbery to raise bail money for their mother in Deidra & Laney Rob a Train, a new comedy from director Sydney Freeland. Freeland returns to Sundance with her second feature after 2014’s Drunktown’s Finest, which debuted in Utah before earning a number of festival awards. Below, the film’s DP Quyen Tran (Pali Road) discusses the influence of the Coen brothers, filming on a moving train at night without any lighting and grounding an absurd story in naturalistic visuals. Deidra & Laney Rob a Train premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival and will be released by Netflix on […]]]>http://filmmakermagazine.com/101420-how-to-sell-the-outrageous-premise-of-the-film-dp-quyen-tran-on-deidra-laney-rob-a-train/feed/1DPs Yoni Brook and Joshua Z. Weinstein on Ultra-Orthodox Hasidic Jewish Drama Menashehttp://filmmakermagazine.com/101432-dps-yoni-brook-and-joshua-z-weinstein-on-ultra-orthodox-hasidic-jewish-drama-menashe/
http://filmmakermagazine.com/101432-dps-yoni-brook-and-joshua-z-weinstein-on-ultra-orthodox-hasidic-jewish-drama-menashe/#respondSun, 29 Jan 2017 20:00:52 +0000http://filmmakermagazine.com/?p=101432Documentary director Joshua Z Weinstein makes his first foray into fiction filmmaking with Menashe, a drama set in the ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighborhood of Borough Park in New York City. Weinstein shot the film with co-DP Yoni Brook, a fellow documentary DP and director. With dialogue almost entirely in Yiddish, the film premiered earlier this week in the NEXT lineup at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. Filmmaker spoke with Weinstein and Brook before the film’s premiere. Below, the two discuss the film’s necessary blend of documentary and fiction techniques, lighting scenes for first-time actors and earning the trust of a notoriously hermetic community. Filmmaker: How […]]]>http://filmmakermagazine.com/101432-dps-yoni-brook-and-joshua-z-weinstein-on-ultra-orthodox-hasidic-jewish-drama-menashe/feed/0“How Do You Show Something That Isn’t There?”: DP Sam Painter on Water & Power: A California Heisthttp://filmmakermagazine.com/101458-how-do-you-show-something-that-isnt-there-dp-sam-painter-on-water-power-a-california-heist/
http://filmmakermagazine.com/101458-how-do-you-show-something-that-isnt-there-dp-sam-painter-on-water-power-a-california-heist/#respondSun, 29 Jan 2017 01:00:20 +0000http://filmmakermagazine.com/?p=101458The story of California is indelibly tied to water. Marina Zenovich, the director of well-received docs on Roman Polanski (Wanted and Desired) and Richard Pryor (Omit the Logic), explores this relationship in Water & Power: A California Heist, which screened in competition this week at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. Her film investigates the state’s ongoing water crisis with an emphasis on Chinatown-esque corruption. Zenovich tapped DP Sam Painter (Going Clear) as one of two cinematographers for the film. Painter spoke with Filmmaker ahead of Water & Power‘s premiere about the film’s blend of hand held footage, dramatically lit interviews and drone imagery. Filmmaker: […]]]>http://filmmakermagazine.com/101458-how-do-you-show-something-that-isnt-there-dp-sam-painter-on-water-power-a-california-heist/feed/0DP Lyle Vincent on Shooting Neo-Noir Thriller Thoroughbredhttp://filmmakermagazine.com/101262-dp-lyle-vincent-on-shooting-neo-noir-thriller-thoroughbred/
http://filmmakermagazine.com/101262-dp-lyle-vincent-on-shooting-neo-noir-thriller-thoroughbred/#respondFri, 27 Jan 2017 21:00:37 +0000http://filmmakermagazine.com/?p=101262Lyle Vincent served as DP on two films at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival: the Midnight selection Bushwick and the NEXT entry Thoroughbred. From first time director Cory Finley, Thoroughbred is a neo-noir character drama that features one of the final performances of the late Anton Yelchin. Vincent discussed his process and approach to cinematography with Filmmaker ahead of the film’s world premiere at Sundance. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to your being hired for this job? Vincent: The film’s writer/director Cory Finley […]]]>http://filmmakermagazine.com/101262-dp-lyle-vincent-on-shooting-neo-noir-thriller-thoroughbred/feed/0“We Were Interested in Creating Something Raw”: DP Isiah Donté Lee on Burning Sandshttp://filmmakermagazine.com/101431-we-were-interested-in-creating-something-raw-dp-isiah-donte-lee-on-burning-sands/
http://filmmakermagazine.com/101431-we-were-interested-in-creating-something-raw-dp-isiah-donte-lee-on-burning-sands/#respondFri, 27 Jan 2017 18:00:18 +0000http://filmmakermagazine.com/?p=101431Isiah Donté Lee shot 10 shorts in four years before making the jump to features with Burning Sands. The story of five college students who embark on a “Hell Week” of hazing to gain entry into a prestigious black fraternity, Burning Sands premiered last week at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival and will be released by Netflix in March. The film draws heavily from the college experiences of its writer/director, Gerard McMurray. Below, Lee speaks with Filmmaker about the film’s deliberate mix of handheld and static compositions, shooting the climactic scene in one night and the “beautiful richness” of Cooke […]]]>http://filmmakermagazine.com/101431-we-were-interested-in-creating-something-raw-dp-isiah-donte-lee-on-burning-sands/feed/0“The Kind of Craziness I Love to Photograph”: DP Rene Soza on 500 YEARShttp://filmmakermagazine.com/101244-the-kind-of-craziness-i-love-to-photograph-dp-rene-soza-on-500-years/
http://filmmakermagazine.com/101244-the-kind-of-craziness-i-love-to-photograph-dp-rene-soza-on-500-years/#commentsFri, 27 Jan 2017 17:00:48 +0000http://filmmakermagazine.com/?p=101244Cinematographer Rene Soza served as one of two DPs on 500 YEARS, the third film in a documentary trilogy on Guatemala from director Pamela Yates. The film explores the historical significance of the war crimes trial of general and former president (1982-1983) Ríos Montt and the toppling of recent president (2012-2015) Otto Pérez Molina. Soza spoke with Filmmaker about his connection to this material and his aim to “visually communicate the electricity of speaking out and taking to the streets.” 500 YEARS screens five times during the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your […]]]>http://filmmakermagazine.com/101244-the-kind-of-craziness-i-love-to-photograph-dp-rene-soza-on-500-years/feed/2“Let the Story Tell Itself”: DP Sean McElwee on The Incredible Jessica Jameshttp://filmmakermagazine.com/101121-let-the-story-tell-itself-dp-sean-mcelwee-on-the-incredible-jessica-james/
http://filmmakermagazine.com/101121-let-the-story-tell-itself-dp-sean-mcelwee-on-the-incredible-jessica-james/#respondFri, 27 Jan 2017 15:00:32 +0000http://filmmakermagazine.com/?p=101121Cinematographer Sean McElwee arrived at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival with two films in the Premieres lineup: Fun Mom Dinner and The Incredible Jessica James. The latter, from writer/director Jim Strouse, represents the first leading turn from Daily Show correspondent Jessica Williams. The film chronicles the romantic woes (and comic mishaps) of an aspiring playwright in New York City. Below, McElwee discusses how to shoot a comedy with romantic notes and have it not scream “romantic comedy.” The Incredible Jessica James screened three times during this year’s Sundance. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? […]]]>http://filmmakermagazine.com/101121-let-the-story-tell-itself-dp-sean-mcelwee-on-the-incredible-jessica-james/feed/0